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Teen faces life in jail for making pot brownies
page: 1share:
GEORGETOWN, Texas — A 19-year-old Texas man who could face years in prison for making brownies laced with marijuana and hash oil said Wednesday he remains scared despite new evidence that his attorney believes should reduce the charges.
A handful of pot legalization supporters welcomed Jacob Lavoro as he entered a Williamson County courthouse near Austin for the second time since his April arrest. He is accused of selling the brownies for $25 and is facing felony charges that carry stiff penalties, ranging from five years to life in prison.
Jack Holmes, Lavoro’s attorney, told reporters after a brief hearing that new lab results show there was only 2.5 grams of marijuana’s psychoactive ingredient, THC, in the brownies. Authorities have also said there was a separate jar that had 145 grams of hash oil.
nypost.com...
ummm... seriously? this scares the crap out me since I am currently living in Austin... and i just moved here from a part of Oakland, CA which is literally referred to as Oaksterdam... where you can buy weed brownies, hash oil, and just about anything else THC related, with no medical prescription necessary.. Come on Texas.... 5 - Life is just ridiculous for this sort of offense... time to update your drug laws..
Jus Sayin
-SuB
a reply to: SUBKONCIOUS
Be careful sir!
It is only a matter of time before these barbaric laws are changed! I mean really life in jail is what they are threatening this kid for!? Honestly people literally get away with murder for less!
Until that time remind yourself that you are now in Texas!!
Be careful sir!
It is only a matter of time before these barbaric laws are changed! I mean really life in jail is what they are threatening this kid for!? Honestly people literally get away with murder for less!
Until that time remind yourself that you are now in Texas!!
edit on America/ChicagoThursdayAmerica/Chicago08America/Chicago831amThursday12 by
elementalgrove because: (no reason given)
No, they're not threatening him with life in jail. from the article:
He's been offered to get out of this with no jail time. Tone down the hyperbole.
First District Attorney Mark Brunner said Holmes was “grandstanding” and that prosecutors are not trying to lock up Lavoro for the rest of his life. His office has offered Lavaro a plea deal to a lesser felony charge that would include no jail time if he stayed out of trouble.
Holmes said they won’t take the offer because they fear prosecutors would be overzealous if Lavaro missed so much as a mandatory meeting. Brunner said the county isn’t trying to make some statement on the war on drugs and defendants take risks when they choose a trial over plea bargains.
“If this was just some college kid experimenting in his friend’s Easy-Bake Oven, with a reefer’s worth of pot and a bunch of brownies, that’d be different,” Brunner said. “This man was trying to run a business, allegedly.”
Hash oil is a controlled substance that carries much harsher state penalties than marijuana. The oil has higher concentrations of THC. It’s in a penalty group with amphetamines and ecstasy.
He's been offered to get out of this with no jail time. Tone down the hyperbole.
a reply to: SUBKONCIOUS
He's facing literally no time at all in jail if he accepts the state's offer.
I don't know about Oaksterdam, but the amount of THC he was selling would probably be illegal even in Colorado.
He'd have to cut up his brownies into hundreds of pieces before distributing them.
He's facing literally no time at all in jail if he accepts the state's offer.
First District Attorney Mark Brunner said Holmes was “grandstanding” and that prosecutors are not trying to lock up Lavoro for the rest of his life. His office has offered Lavaro a plea deal to a lesser felony charge that would include no jail time if he stayed out of trouble.
I don't know about Oaksterdam, but the amount of THC he was selling would probably be illegal even in Colorado.
Jack Holmes, Lavoro’s attorney, told reporters after a brief hearing that new lab results show there was only 2.5 grams of marijuana’s psychoactive ingredient, THC, in the brownies. Authorities have also said there was a separate jar that had 145 grams of hash oil.
In Colorado, where recreational marijuana is now legal, edible products are required to be easily divided into servings of 10 milligrams of THC — about the amount in a medium-sized joint.
He'd have to cut up his brownies into hundreds of pieces before distributing them.
a reply to: elementalgrove
Yes, will do... it's crazy to me how different it's perceived here.. In Oakland, with a simple medical recommendation you are allowed to grow 72 plants legally... I can't even imagine what the penalty in Texas would be for that..
www.safeaccessnow.net...
Yes, will do... it's crazy to me how different it's perceived here.. In Oakland, with a simple medical recommendation you are allowed to grow 72 plants legally... I can't even imagine what the penalty in Texas would be for that..
City of Oakland
Ordinance: Indoors -- Up to 72 plants with up to 32 square feet of canopy
www.safeaccessnow.net...
a reply to: SUBKONCIOUS
I changed this because it's obvious he isn't being threatened with a life sentence.....
I changed this because it's obvious he isn't being threatened with a life sentence.....
edit on 7-8-2014 by DarknStormy because: (no reason
given)
a reply to: charles1952
Right that may be the offer, but the threat still stands and he could technically face a very long sentence. This from the sound of it is why they are hesistant in taking the plea.
Main point is that the felony as it is listed in the article can put you away from 5 years to life!
Cannabis is a medicine on all levels and should never result with you being thrown into a cage with murderers and rapists!
Right that may be the offer, but the threat still stands and he could technically face a very long sentence. This from the sound of it is why they are hesistant in taking the plea.
Main point is that the felony as it is listed in the article can put you away from 5 years to life!
Cannabis is a medicine on all levels and should never result with you being thrown into a cage with murderers and rapists!
a reply to: charles1952
thank you for stating the obvious.. I just titled the thread as the same title as the article I was referencing from the New York Post... The point is that the law states that the penalty for this crime is 5 years -to Life in prison.. which is blatantly excessive.. but thank you for clarifying anyway..
thank you for stating the obvious.. I just titled the thread as the same title as the article I was referencing from the New York Post... The point is that the law states that the penalty for this crime is 5 years -to Life in prison.. which is blatantly excessive.. but thank you for clarifying anyway..
Stay the hell out of Williamson County! They are notoriously heavy handed. They don't take kindly to them hippie types.
I lived for many years on the north end of Austin. I could literally shoot a rock with a slingshot into Williamson County. I avoided crossing that line like the plague.
I lived for many years on the north end of Austin. I could literally shoot a rock with a slingshot into Williamson County. I avoided crossing that line like the plague.
edit on 7-8-2014 by skunkape23 because: (no reason given)
originally posted by: FurvusRexCaeli
He'd have to cut up his brownies into hundreds of pieces before distributing them.
2.5 grams worth of ingredients... thats about 3 - 5 doses.. not hundreds..
lab results show the brownies contained only a small amount of marijuana’s psychoactive ingredient.
www.washingtonpost.com...[edit by]edit on 7-8-2014 by SUBKONCIOUS because: (no reason given)
a reply to: elementalgrove
Dear elementalgrove,
My understanding may be too simple. There's really no question that, according to the law (based on nothing more than the article) he's committed a drug felony.
The state is saying you don't have to go to jail for a day. Plead guilty to a lesser charge and stay out of trouble for a year, and everything's good. I don't see why he should be worried about life in jail. Besides, they're asking him to plead guilty to a lesser charge. Sounds like even if he pleads guilty to the lesser charge and fouls up, he still can't get life. (Because it is a lesser charge.)
A threat's not much of a threat when you can just walk away from it if you want.
He's not afraid of getting a life sentence, he's afraid of being convicted of a felony. He's hoping to get a sympathetic jury to let him off.
With respect,
Charles1952
Dear elementalgrove,
My understanding may be too simple. There's really no question that, according to the law (based on nothing more than the article) he's committed a drug felony.
The state is saying you don't have to go to jail for a day. Plead guilty to a lesser charge and stay out of trouble for a year, and everything's good. I don't see why he should be worried about life in jail. Besides, they're asking him to plead guilty to a lesser charge. Sounds like even if he pleads guilty to the lesser charge and fouls up, he still can't get life. (Because it is a lesser charge.)
A threat's not much of a threat when you can just walk away from it if you want.
He's not afraid of getting a life sentence, he's afraid of being convicted of a felony. He's hoping to get a sympathetic jury to let him off.
With respect,
Charles1952
Good thing the Texas cops didn't also find his six dildos.
He would probably be on death row.
He would probably be on death row.
a reply to: charles1952
Your understandings are correct sir!
A drug felony that can ultimately lead to a whole lot of prison time, if you are not willing to play ball with the state. Considering the proven medicinal qualities of the "drug" there should be no reason for this to be a crime.
The drug laws are draconian at best, with one simple end game, fill the prisons as much as possible. This kid must be "lucky" and this must be his first offense. When you classify these things as felonies it does not take long for a serious prison sentence, which ultimately takes a nonviolent "drug" offender into a system of hell, where he faces monsters of the literal kind. Leading typically to a life of PTSD with plenty of addictions to top it off, addictions acquired in prison.
The state is not the good guy in this, in my humble opinion
Your understandings are correct sir!
A drug felony that can ultimately lead to a whole lot of prison time, if you are not willing to play ball with the state. Considering the proven medicinal qualities of the "drug" there should be no reason for this to be a crime.
The drug laws are draconian at best, with one simple end game, fill the prisons as much as possible. This kid must be "lucky" and this must be his first offense. When you classify these things as felonies it does not take long for a serious prison sentence, which ultimately takes a nonviolent "drug" offender into a system of hell, where he faces monsters of the literal kind. Leading typically to a life of PTSD with plenty of addictions to top it off, addictions acquired in prison.
The state is not the good guy in this, in my humble opinion
edit on America/ChicagoThursdayAmerica/Chicago08America/Chicago831amThursday2 by
elementalgrove because: (no reason given)
a reply to: elementalgrove
Dear elementalgrove,
Thank you for your comments and patience. That's how I learn things here. I hope to meet up with you again.
With respect,
Charles1952
Dear elementalgrove,
Thank you for your comments and patience. That's how I learn things here. I hope to meet up with you again.
With respect,
Charles1952
What a horrible joke of a situation!
He sold some pot brownies, those people wanted them, if they didnt want them he wouldnt have made them.
Seems like a pretty insane sentence for a crime like that, murderers get out in less time.
stabbing/shooting somone is why they have such long sentences, grand theft, embezzlement and such.
I hope he just gets a slap on the wrist, i bet hes already learned his lesson.
He sold some pot brownies, those people wanted them, if they didnt want them he wouldnt have made them.
Seems like a pretty insane sentence for a crime like that, murderers get out in less time.
stabbing/shooting somone is why they have such long sentences, grand theft, embezzlement and such.
I hope he just gets a slap on the wrist, i bet hes already learned his lesson.
Does the fact that a teen is making pot brownies bother anyone else but me? Hell I live in Washington state and it bothers me. What is the difference
in this if the teen was cooking up meth in his kitchen instead of making pot brownies?
originally posted by: Xtrozero
Does the fact that a teen is making pot brownies bother anyone else but me? Hell I live in Washington state and it bothers me. What is the difference in this if the teen was cooking up meth in his kitchen instead of making pot brownies?
I guess if your pro-crime, then... Yes.. you should be bothered.
Colorado Crime Rates Down 14.6% Since Legalizing Marijuana
naturalsociety.com...
then the young lad should continue his business in jail and keep the prison inmates happy
a reply to: charles1952
Right back at you Charles1952!
The drug war is an absolute failure!
It is fascinating that we are still dealing with this pseudo-war. The aim is to ultimately control the black market profits as well as fill the prisons. Fortunately we are beginning to see the tide change.
Our grandchildren will be blown away on many, many, levels when they look back at this time in history.
Right back at you Charles1952!
The drug war is an absolute failure!
It is fascinating that we are still dealing with this pseudo-war. The aim is to ultimately control the black market profits as well as fill the prisons. Fortunately we are beginning to see the tide change.
Our grandchildren will be blown away on many, many, levels when they look back at this time in history.